Several AEW wrestlers are set to appear in the next season of “Carpool Karaoke: The Series.”
AEW’s Britt Baker, Christian Cage, Bryan Danielson, MJF, Powerhouse Hobbs, CM Punk, and Ruby Soho will be featured as a grouping for a season five episode of “Carpool Karaoke: The Series.” The season premieres on Apple TV+ on Friday, May 27.
The other groupings that will be appearing during the season are:
Actor Simu Liu & actress Jessica Henwick
Murray Bartlett, Alexandra Daddario & Sydney Sweeney of HBO’s “The White Lotus”
TikTok stars the D’Amelio family (Charli, Dixie, Heidi & Marc)
Actress/musician Zooey Deschanel & Jonathan Scott of “Property Brothers”
Brazilian superstar Anitta & rapper Saweetie
“Carpool Karaoke: The Series” is a spinoff of the Carpool Karaoke segment from “The Late Late Show” with James Corden.
“The Apple TV+ series doesn’t feature Corden, and instead pairs and groups different celebrities with one another to go for the musical ride of a lifetime — with personal playlists, sing-alongs, visits to their favorite locations and surprises for unwitting passersby,” Variety wrote.
“Carpool Karaoke: The Series” first premiered in 2017. John Cena appeared on a season one episode, while WWE-themed episodes were part of season two and season three.
The trailer for the new season is available to watch below:
AEW has announced six matches for Tuesday’s edition of Dark.
The matches for this week’s show were taped on Friday, April 15 from the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas.
Notable matches scheduled to air include Team Taz’s Ricky Starks & Powerhouse Hobbs facing The Dark Order’s Evil Uno & Stu Grayson. Swerve Strickland & Keith Lee will team up to take on The Factory’s Aaron Solo & Nick Comoroto as well.
Marina Shafir will also be in action on Dark ahead of her TBS title match against Jade Cargill on Friday’s edition of Rampage. She’ll take on Alejandra Lion on the show.
The full lineup for Tuesday’s edition of AEW Dark is as follows:
Toni Storm vs. Gigi Rey
Marina Shafir vs. Alejandra Lion
Danielle Kamela vs. Rache Chanel
Tony Nese vs. JD Griffey
Swerve Strickland & Keith Lee vs. The Factory’s Aaron Solo & Nick Comoroto
Team Taz’s Ricky Starks & Powerhouse Hobbs vs. The Dark Order’s Evil Uno & Stu Grayson
Happy Wednesday! Join on-camera personality Denise Salcedo as she reviews the April 13th edition of AEW Dynamite. This was a loaded episode where there is plenty to talk about including CM Punk vs. Penta Oscuro, Minoru Suzuki vs. Samoa Joe, the debut of Satnam Singh, plus lots more! Tune in for a fun and honest review!
Powerhouse Hobbs is the latest to qualify for the Face of the Revolution ladder match.
Hobbs defeated Dante Martin during tonight’s Rampage to qualify. The finish had Hobbs pin Martin with a spinebuster.
Hobbs now joins Keith Lee and Wardlow in the ladder match that will take place at Revolution on March 6 in Orlando, Florida. The winner of the ladder match will be the next challenger for the TNT title, currently held by Sammy Guevara. Wardlow qualified on this week’s Dynamite after pinning Max Caster, while Keith Lee made his AEW debut last week, defeating Isiah Kassidy of Private Party.
The current card for AEW Revolution is as follows:
Adam Cole vs. Hangman Page for the AEW World Championship
Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa for the AEW World Women’s Championship
CM Punk vs. MJF in a dog collar match
Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus defend the AEW World Tag Team titles against two other teams. Those teams will be decided in two battle royals that will take place during the next two weeks on Dynamite.
Face of the Revolution ladder match featuring Wardlow, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Keith Lee
It’s Monday and you know what that means: an eight-match AEW Dark: Elevation taped last Wednesday at the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington, DC. Tony Schiavone, Paul Wight and Mark Henry were on the call.
Leyla Hirsch defeated Brittany Blake
This was Blake’s debut. Hirsch (28-12) was rolling early, but Blake turned things around and had control until Hirsch countered a crossbody into a knee strike to end things.
Private Party (w/ Matt Hardy) defeated Action Andretti & Myles Hawkins
Private Party (27-17) isolated Hawkins and were on top until Andretti got a hot tag that was ended quickly. Marq Quen hit a shooting star press on Andretti to pick up the win.
For those interested, the commentary team once again explained Andrade’s 51% purchase of HFO, the faction name changing into AHFO and Matt Hardy remaining as CEO of the group. So, there you go.
Brandi Rhodes defeated Willow Nightingale
This was a good showcase for Nightingale who won the hearts of the crowd really quickly. Even still, Rhodes (14-3) won with a modified crossface.
Men of The Year (w/ Dan Lambert) defeated Logan Easton LaRoux & Mike Fowler
Scorpio Sky hit the TKO on LaRoux to win this squash. After the match, Lambert ordered Page to deliver Ego’s Edge to Fowler.
Red Velvet defeated Janai Kai
Kai’s gear paid homage to Bruce Lee’s iconic yellow/black jumpsuit from the movie Game of Death. Kai had a great showing, showcasing her Muay Thai-inspired kicks. Velvet (43-20) turned the tide with knee strikes and ended things with her new finisher (Just Desserts) for the win.
Ortiz & Santana defeated Breaux Keller & Goldy
This was the AEW debuts for both Keller and Goldy. They got in more offense than expected, but their advantage ended after Ortiz hit several clotheslines on Keller. Santana hit a devastating lariat on Keller to end the match and improve their record to 31-10. This was an important win ahead of their trios match with Chris Jericho against 2point0 and Daniel Garcia on Wednesday.
Ruby Soho & Thunder Rosa defeated Jordan Blade & Leva Bates
This was the AEW debut for Blade. Rosa won with the Peruvian necktie on Blade in a match that definitely took place.
Team Taz (Powerhouse Hobbs and FTW Champion Ricky Starks) defeated Lee Moriarty & Matt Sydal
Team Taz started out dominating thanks to Hobbs’ power. Starks and Hobbs isolated Moriarty for a while. Sydal got the hot tag and was able to turn things around, especially with his knee strikes and kicks. Sydal and Moriarty targeted Hobbs’ legs to slow him down, but it was not enough. Starks hit an assisted spear on Moriarty to pick up the win.
After the match, Starks cut a promo calling out Dante Martin. Martin came out and tried to clean house, but the numbers game was against him until Sydal and Moriarty evened the odds.
Final Thoughts:
Most matches served their goal of helping improve records for the AEW contracted stars. Both Kai and Nightingale had good showings and should definitely return for more matches. The main event between Team Taz vs. Sydal & Moriarty was the match of the night and worth giving it a watch.
For the second time since AEW head Tony Khan’s controversial tweet in response to criticism from former roster member Big Swole on diversity issues, current roster member Powerhouse Hobbs released a statement in support of both Khan, chief legal council Megha Parekh, and the company.
There is so much that goes into AEW that those online don’t see.
It often flies under the radar that Tony and Megha are people of color and having them in charge of AEW represents progress for pro wrestling. I see firsthand how hard they’re working to make wrestling more diverse.
I want you all to know that I consider Tony and Megha family, and I’m disappointed to see their efforts dismissed. People have no idea the time and effort it takes to put shows on and to make AEW an open environment where people like me are seen and heard.
Tony works hand in hand with people of color on the roster all the time about their story ideas, input, matches, etc. Not every idea will work, but every idea is listened to and valued. My personal voice has been heard and I’ve had input for many of my opportunities. As a Black male, I plan on using my voice to do what I can to make sure that this company is diverse. I’m also very aware that diversity comes in many forms – Women, Black, Latinx, East Asian, South Asian, Southeast Asian, LGBTQ+ and more. The more diversity, equity and inclusion we can build in wrestling, the more fans we can engage with, and the more fun we can all have together.
AEW is a young company led by people of color heading in the right direction. I’m proud to be a part of that momentum, and I know my colleagues stand beside me when I say that.
Last week, Swole said on her podcast that she felt AEW needed more structure internally and that women, in particular, shouldn’t have had to go through so much to get TV time. She also said there was no diverse representation at the influencer level and that when AEW tried to be representative publicly, “it does not come across in the black community as genuine at all.”
Khan then replied to a news story tweet about the podcast that both the top two executives at AEW were brown before listing off several African-American stars that “all won on tv this month.” He then said he let Swole’s contract expire as “her wrestling wasn’t good enough” before plugging Friday’s street fight between two female teams.
The tweet drew ire from fans and wrestlers alike including from roster member Lio Rush who tweeted that Khan should apologize. He later tweeted his own statement of support and that he hopes to be a driver of change in the company this year.
Khan has yet to address the tweet and subsequent blowback publicly.
CM Punk will have his first television match in over seven years on next week’s two-hour AEW Rampage Grand Slam.
Punk will take on Powerhouse Hobbs. The match was announced during this week’s Dynamite and was set up when Hobbs and Hook from Team Taz attacked Punk at the commentary table.
Punk’s last match on TV was on the January 20, 2014 WWE Raw, where he defeated Billy Gunn.
A total of three matches were announced for the special two-hour edition of Rampage.
In a trios match, The Young Bucks and Adam Cole will team against Christian Cage, Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus.
Also announced, Chris Jericho and Jake Hager of the Inner Circle will tag against Men of the Year’s Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page. Jericho answered the American Top Team open challenge on this week’s Dynamite to set up the bout.
Next week’s Rampage will be taped next Wednesday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, New York. The crowd is expected to be the largest in the promotion’s history at over 18,000.
Here is the announced lineup for Rampage so far:
AEW Rampage Grand Slam, airing Friday, September 24, 10 p.m. Eastern time —
CM Punk vs. Powerhouse Hobbs (w/Hook)
The Young Bucks & Adam Cole vs. Christian Cage & Jurassic Express
Kenny Omega defends the AEW World Championship against Jungle Boy on tonight’s Saturday Night Dynamite.
Jungle Boy won a Casino Battle Royale on the May 30 Double or Nothing PPV to earn the title match. Omega has held the World title since defeating Jon Moxley for the belt at Winter is Coming in December 2020.
Two of the top five contenders in AEW will go head-to-head in singles competition. Hangman Page will take on Team Taz’s Powerhouse Hobbs. Page is ranked second in the men’s division, while Hobbs is ranked fourth.
Top Flight’s Dante Martin will face Matt Sydal in a rematch from AEW Dark.
In the women’s division, Kris Statlander will face The Bunny from The Hardy Family Office. The Blade will be in The Bunny’s corner, while Orange Cassidy will second Statlander.
Ethan Page will take on Bear Bronson of Bear Country.
A face-to-face interview between Konnan and The Pinnacle’s Tully Blanchard has also been announced for tonight’s show.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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Show Report —
Sammy Guevara talked to Alex Marvez earlier today but was ambushed by a chair shot from Shawn Spears. Spears said “Complements of MJF. Good luck next week,” to set up Guevara vs. MJF.
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Taz joined commentary for this match. No Cage, Starks, or HOOK out there with Hobbs.
Hangman Page defeated Powerhouse Hobbs
This was a really good slobberknocker to open the show.
Both men are ranked in the top 5. Hobbs forced Page into the corner at the start, driving his shoulder repeatedly into Page’s midsection. Page turned it around and hit running clohteslines, but Hobbs wouldn’t go down. Hobbs then avoided a Buckshot Lariat by rolling to the floor.
Hobbs attacked Page’s right arm on the floor, wrapping it around the barricade. A vertical suplex followed once they returned to the ring. Page got his feet up on a Vader bomb attempt and went for ten punches in the corner, but Hobbs forced him down and sent him head-first into the corner post.
Out on the floor, Hobbs tried to toss Page into the corner post, but Page fought out and pushed him into it. Page had been busted open on the top of his head. Back in the ring, Page hit repeated boots and his springboard lariat to finally knock Hobbs down. A plancha followed out to the floor.
Back in the ring, a top-rope moonsault to a standing Hobbs got two. Hobbs powered out of a suplex and leveled Page with a lariat. Page rolled out of the way of a diving headbutt and flattened Hobbs with a big lariat for two. Hobbs fought out of the Deadeye and took Page down with a running crossbody for two.
Ricky Starks and HOOK ran out with the FTW Championship, but Brian Cage ran interference and sent them packing. The distraction allowed Hobbs to hit a big spinebuster for a good near fall. They traded elbow smashes until Page avoided a running crossbody and hit a German suplex. The Deadeye followed for the win.
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A very good video package played hyping Omega vs. Jungle Boy for later tonight. They set it up as one of the biggest matches in Dynamite history.
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The Young Bucks and Brandon Cutler cut a promo. Matt said they’re the longest reigning tag champions in AEW history. Cutler started to talk but was told to shut up repeatedly. They listed all the people they’ve beaten, and next is Eddie Kingston and Penta El Zero Miedo. They’re not even real tag wrestlers. The Bucks are going to beat them because they’re EVPs: Extremely Violent People.
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Tully Blanchard & Konnan Interview
This was very strange. The performances were convincing but the content was non-traditional.
Schiavone was the moderator. Tully let Konnan speak first. Konnan said he wasn’t going to be intimidated by mind games, and neither will Santana & Ortiz. FTR tried to say they had the same upbringing as Santana & Ortiz, but North Carolina isn’t the same as New York City. He brought up social issues. He said Tully’s a mentor, but Konnan’s a father.
Tully said Konnan doesn’t know who he’s dealing with. Konnan’s just going to make one big entrance on Dynamite before FTR ends the game.
Konnan brought Santana & Ortiz out. Tully pointed to the big screen, which showed Santana & Ortiz being beaten up. The Santana & Ortiz in the ring unmasked as FTR and hit the spike piledriver on Konnan.
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Vickie Guerrero interrupted during Dante’s entrance with her “excuse me!” schtick and brought out Andrade El Idolo. They were about to speak more, but was interrupted by Sydal’s entrance.
Matt Sydal (w/ Mike Sydal) defeated Dante Martin
This was a rematch from a notable AEW Dark match from a couple weeks ago. They performed chain wrestlling to start before Dante hit a springboard dropkick for two. A standing twisting moonsault from Sydal got two ahead of the commercial break.
Once back, Sydal applied a modified Figure Four leglock, but Dante reached the ropes. Dante fought back with low kicks and caught Sydal with a fireman’s carry slam for two. A springboard moonsault from Dante got two more. They fought on the top rope until Sydal forced him to the mat, following it up with a meteora for yet another near fall.
Dante hit a great sunset flip for a good near fall, followed by a flipping stunner for two more. He went back to the top rope, but Sydal avoided a stomp and hit the Lightning Spiral for the win.
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Jungle Boy was about to talk about how tonight’s going to the be the biggest night of his life. Christian Cage walked up and agreed. He said Jungle Boy shouldn’t just be happy to be here, he should be a little bit pissed off because of what Omega’s been saying. He told Jungle Boy to shock the fans again and win the title tonight.
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Jade Cargill was with Mark Sterling, advertising the Jade Brand and a Shop AEW promo code. Cargill ripped up a Dark Order shirt and said she was “that bitch.”
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MJF, Wardlow, & Shawn Spears were with Alex Marvez. MJF talked about attacking Jericho and having Spears attack Guevara. He doesn’t understand why people are upset by him attacking Dean Malenko, an old guy with a bad heart and Parkinson’s. MJF said the fans should be thanking him, because he gave Malenko an early retirement. Jericho and Hager ran in, leading to an all-out brawl.
They all brawled out to the ring. The Pinnacle took control with the numbers advantage. MJF and Spears set up to destroy Jericho’s arm with a chair, but Guevara ran out and took out everyone. He whacked Wardlow and Spears with the chair, with MJF fleeing up the ramp.
Guevara grabbed a microphone to loud “Sammy” chants. He said that AEW chose the wrong guy for the action figures and the posters. On Wednesday, Guevara will show MJF he’s the best ever, and he knows it.
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Miro thanked God for his power and for keeping his wie flexible. He addressed Brian Pillman Jr., saying standing between the righteous man and his path is like standing between the cleaver and its meat. Next week, he will find out why Miro is God’s favorite champion. The bravest thing he’s ever done in his life was thinking about attacking Miro; the stupidest was actually doing it.
Bronson forced Page into the corner but was met with a right hand, which only served to anger him. Bronson laid in repeated right hands and a back elbow, sending Page to the mat. Page stomped on Bronson’s foot and mocked him, so Bronson hit a powerslam for two. Bronson sent Page from corner to corner and then the floor. He hit a big tope, but Sky pushed Page out of the way and took the bullet for him.
WIth the official distracted, Sky blindsided Bronson, allowing Page to take control into the break. Once back, Bronson fought out of the Ego’s Edge and hit a running splash in the corner. Bronson clubbed Page with lariats and a spinebuster. Page avoided a running senton, but Bronson fought out of the Ego’s Edge and hit a seated splash for two.
They fought on the top rope, where Page hit a superplex for two. Bronson came back with a black hole slam for two. He went to the top rope, where Sky tried to interfere. Boulder chased Sky off, but Page hit a low blow with the referee distracted. Page then hit the Ego’s Edge for the win.
– After the match, Page said “I’m not stupid,” which was met with “Yes you are!” chants. He’s not stupid because he knows Darby Allin isn’t done with him. Page is gonna be the nail in Allin’s coffin, “so why don’t I just put you in one?” He challenged Allin to a coffin match for July 7.
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Britt Baker and Rebel listed things they’d ask for. They could think of a million things they’d ask for if Tony Khan owed them a favor, but Vickie Guerrero asked for a wrestling match. Baker’s the face of a new era, one that doesn’t have time for fun and games and old chicks. “Excuse me in advance for beating your ass.” She’ll send Vickie home with a prescription signed “D.M.D.”
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Guerrero said Nyla Rose is coming for Baker’s title at Fyter Fest. Rose said that next week, Baker should watch out for the claws of the cougar.
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Kris Statlander (w/ Orange Cassidy) defeated The Bunny (w/ The Blade)
Statlander had the power advantage early on. Bunny tripped her up and taunted, so Statlander took her down with arm drags. Bunny starched her with a slap, Statlander hit a gamenguiri and followed it with a vertical suplex. She went for a corner attack, but Bunny hit a thrust kick, sending Statlander to the floor. She followed it up with a running dropkick into the break.
Bunny clotheslined Statlander to the floor, where Statlander countered some running offense into a powerslam. Back in the ring, they traded strikes until Statlander hit almost a Michinoku Driver for two. Bunny fought out of the Big Bang Theory but was instead met with a Blue Thunder bomb for two.
Statlander climbed to the top but was sent back to the mat with a German suplex. Bunny followed it up with a thrust kick for two. Blade distracted the official and slipped her brass knuckles, but Orange pocketed them and left. Statlander hit the Big Bang Theory for the win.
– Blade attacked Orange after the match, with TH2 running out to join the beatdown. Blade got the knuckle duster back and knocked out Cassidy with them as TH2 held him up.
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QT Marshall was interviewed by Schiavone about Brock Anderson. He was upset that Brock got all these accolades for his debut. Marshall noted that Cody’s not here, and he hopes it stays that way.
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Brian Pillman Jr. addressed Miro. He thinks Miro’s got a God complex. Pillman’s got a complex too, and it’s called fighting for everything he’s ever had. On Wednesday, he’s going to check Miro’s ego and win the title.
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Dynamite lineup for June 30:
Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. & Rebel vs. Nyla Rose & Vickie Guerrero
TNT Championship: Miro (c) vs. Brian Pillman Jr.
MJF vs. Sammy Guevara
The Young Bucks vs. Eddie Kingston & Penta El Zero Miedo
For Road Rager on July 7:
Cody Rhodes vs. QT Marshall in a Strap Match
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Eddie Kingston, Penta El Zero Miedo, and Alex Abrahantes spoke. Kingston learned something about the Bucks. It doesn’t matter how much they get hit, because it’s all about their ego. The only way to hurt them is to take those tag titles. Penta spoke in Spanish. “Penta says next week, we run over you.”
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Don Callis joined commentary.
AEW World Championship: Kenny Omega (c) (w/ Don Callis & The Good Brothers) defeated Jungle Boy (w/ Luchasaurus & Marko Stunt)
This was excellent, one of the best Dynamite matches all year. Jungle Boy is unbelievably popular; they showed his family looking on during the match.
The official immediately ejected Stunt, Luchasaurus, and the Good Brothers. Omega won a strong lockup, taunting Jungle Boy’s long hair. They performed chain wrestling until Omega took Jungle Boy down by his hair. Omega laid in strikes in the corner, but then Jungle Boy turned the tables and did the same. Jungle Boy went for a step-up arm drag, but Omega caught him. Jungle Boy fought out and hit a springboard arm drag and then a dropkick, sending Omega to the floor.
Omega stopped a dive and pulled Jungle Boy out of the ring, sending him into the barricade. He continued the beatdown through a commercial. During the break, Omega sent Jungle Boy into the crowd and waited for a countout, but Jungle Boy made it back in time. Jungle Boy avoided You Can’t Escape, but Omega got the knees up on a senton attempt and hit a backbreaker for two.
The champ laid in chops and went for Aoi Shoudou, but Jungle Boy fought out and hit a brainbuster. Omega spilled to the outside, where Jungle Boy hit two suicide dives. Jungle Boy hit his float-in DDT, but Omega rolled to the floor, where Jungle Boy hit a tope con giro. Jungle Boy went to the top rope, but Omega chopped him down. Omega went for a superplex, and hit it after a long fight for two.
Jungle Boy avoided a V-Trigger and flipped out of a German. He hit a thrust kick, but Omega came back with a V-Trigger, a snap dragon suplex, and a second V-Trigger. Jungle Boy countered the One Winged Angel with a reverse hurricanrana, then a sliding elbow smash to the back of Omega’s head got two. He went for a ripcord, but Omega turned it into a V-Trigger. A powerbomb and another V-Trigger got two.
Omega went for another V-Trigger, but Jungle Boy rolled through and locked on the Snare Trap submission. The Good Brothers ran out but were immediately cut off by the Jurassic Express and Frankie Kazarian. Omega reached the ropes before the two traded forearms in the center of the ring. Omega hit a V-Trigger but Jungle Boy hit a rebound lariat. Omega hit a brainbuster for two.
Another V-Trigger followed, but Jungle Boy fought out of the One-Winged Angel and rolled Omega up for a great near fall. He locked on the Snare Trap once again. Omega grabbed Jungle Boy’s hair, forcing him to break the hold. Jungle Boy perched Omega on the top rope, but Omega slid out and dropped him over the ropes. A V-Trigger to the back of the head followed, as did the Jay Driller for two.
Omega then hit the One-Winged Angel to win and retain.
– After the match, Omega looked like he would use the belt to attack Jungle Boy, but Christian ran out and sent him packing. Matt Hardy & Private Party ran out and attacked Christian. Christian was about to counter the Twist of Fate into a Killswitch, but the Young Bucks ran out and crushed Christian with superkicks. Hardy hit the Twist of Fate. Omega posed with the belt to end of the show.
On this coming Tuesday’s Dark, PAC, who hasn’t been seen since he and Fenix lost against the Young Bucks last month, returns to singles action, facing Serpentico. Penta El Zero Miedo and Rey Fenix will be in PAC’s corner, and Luther will be in Serpentico’s corner.
Luther will also be in action on the card, as he will face Lance Archer. Serpentico will be in Luther’s corner, and Jake Roberts will be in Archer’s. Archer in recent weeks has been clearing the ring whenever Darby Allin and Sting are attacked. Archer has also confronted Sting in recent interviews.
The Bunny, part of Matt Hardy’s Hardy Office, will take on Leila Grey. Team Taz will also be in action, as Powerhouse Hobbs and Ricky Starks will team up to take on Brick Aldridge and Aaron Frye.
Our lead story in this week’s Observer covers WWE finances. We look at the direct numbers of WWE, revenue, profits, value of the company on Wall Street, what was up and why, what was down and why, exactly how much WWE took in on TV rights, network and merchandise. We look at what the company’s top priorities are for 2021, why the stock price is down, plus Vince McMahon, WWE President Nick Khan, CBO Stephanie McMahon and CFO Kristina Salen comment on the company.
They talk the Peacock deal, the Indian and Latin American markets, new television products, how much COVID cost the company in revenue and costs of the Thunderdome set-up as compared to the old way of doing things.
The issue also covers:
Ratings, as well as what USA would be doing without WWE, and WWE’s declines as compared to cable and network TV as a whole, how much money WWE has taken in and profited, or lost, every year since 1994.
Update the New Japan/AEW relationship, the different steps over the past few years from New Japan blowing off AEW to them doing business with the KENTA vs. Jon Moxley program, why it happened and where things stand now.
Royal Rumble, including how everyone did, stories behind the matches, age of men’s talent in WWE vs AEW and the message loud and clear, two of the main events scheduled for WrestleMania, match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
New Japan deal with Roku and what this means both short and long-term, as well as other people who had interest. We look at the keys to the deal decision going the way it did.
Viewing experience for fans from Peacock, John Cena WrestleMania notes, NXT Takeover card, update on the Dusty Classic shows, two top WWE stars talk their recent positive tests for COVID, details behind the firings of Lars Sullivan and Steve Cutler, update on Vince McMahon/Oliver Luck lawsuit, Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley talk Undertaker remarks, International TV ratings, how wrestling does in comparison to other sports in the ratings, Bill Goldberg talks MMA, background of Reginald, Cesar update, new WWE signing and most watched shows of the past week on the WWE Network.
NJPW New Beginning in Nagoya, with match-by-match coverage, poll results, and where things are going next.
Giant Baba Memorial show.
Television ratings of the past week, including segment-by-segment numbers for the past two weeks on Wednesday, who was watching in different age groups, how different segments did on Raw & Smackdown and more.
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FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
A few notes on the death of Butch Reed earlier today. Reed was a rare combination of power and agility in his prime years like few in wrestling. His peak was 1982 to 1985 when he was one of the best guys in the business, both as a face and a heel. I don’t have a lot of personal notes on him, but I was at a party in Japan in 1993 or 1994 when somehow Reed challenged Scott Norton to an arm wrestling match. If you don’t know about Scott Norton and arm wrestling, that’s like trying to pick a fight with Francis Ngannou. But Reed did challenge him even if we all knew how it was going to end up. He was very vociferous about it. Jim Hard I think was on the trip and kept telling me how excited he was about the idea of the match with Bam Bam Bigelow & Big Van Vader vs. Doom (Reed & Ron Simmons).
The April 7, 1982, match with Ric Flair vs. Butch Reed for the NWA title at the Miami Beach Convention Center (there were no cameras) that Flair won in 42 minutes was the best match I had ever seen live, and for that matter ever seen period, up to that point in time. Maybe the best live match I saw until Flair-Steamboat in Chicago in 1989.
So this is the Will Hobbs/Butch Reed story. Reed’s family reached out to Hobbs this week and said that Bruce loved Will Hobbs. He’d watch him and say “There’s the new Hacksaw.” He and his family identified him as Hacksaw, never The Natural. They told him Bruce wanted to reach out to him and tell him how much he liked watching him but he was too sick to do so. The other part of the story is that Tony Khan was a huge fan of Reed and not knowing any of this would talk to Hobbs about Butch Reed and tell him about his favorite segments on Mid South before either of them knew Reed was a fan of Hobbs.
Today is the 37th anniversary of the death of El Santo, who is likely the most beloved pro wrestler who ever lived.
33 years ago today was the night that 33 million fans on NBC watched the Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant rematch from Indianapolis. It is likely the single most-watched wrestling match ever in the U.S. because even though ratings in the 1950s were higher, less people had television sets then.
Smackdown tonight has Big E vs. Sami Zayn vs. Apollo Crews for the IC title, Dominik Mysterio vs King Corbin, plus interviews with Edge and Bianca Belair. Jake Atlas vs. August Gray will be on 205 Live.
WWE stock took a tumble today after yesterday’s earnings call. The stock fell from $56.00 a share yesterday to $49.23. The decline was due to both revenues and profits being lower than expected, and analysts finding out that the cost of taping television now is much higher than before due to the Thunderdome setting, and them not realizing it and thus it means profit expectations for next year are lower than they believed. Some also didn’t see it as a good idea to give up the WWE Network in the manner they did. Still, given the guaranteed profits over the next four years with the current deals in place, the stock is underpriced now, not overpriced. A lot of analysts following the stock are saying the same thing.
Devon Hughes (D-Von Dudley) on his podcast talked about how he is recovering from a stroke.
Tomorrow’s UFC from the Apex Arena in Las Vegas is an ESPN+ exclusive starting at 5 p.m. Eastern:
Ode Osbourne (143.5) vs. Jerome Rivera (145)
Martin Day (146) vs. Timur Valiev (145.5)
Seung Woo Choi (145.5) vs.; Youseff Zalal (146)
Molly McCann (126) vs. Lara Procopio (125.5)
Karol Rosa (135) vs. Joselyn Edwards (135)
Devonte Smith (159.5) vs. Justin Jayens (159) – this was contracted at 160
Mike Rodriguez (205) vs. Danilo Marques (205)
Diego Ferreria (155) vs. Beneil Dariush (156)
Cody Stamann (144.5) vs Askar Askar (145)
Alexandre Pantoja (125.5) vs. Manel Kape (125.5)
Michael Johnson (154.5) vs. Clay Guida (155)
Cory Sandhagen (135.5) vs. Frankie Edgar (135.5)
Alistair Overeem(255.5) vs. Alexander Volkov (264)
Paige VanZant vs. Britain Hart headline tonight’s Bare Knuckle boxing PPV show on FITE V at 9 p.m. Eastern. Johnny Bedford vs. Dat Nguyen and Chris Leben vs. Quentin Henry are also on the show.
WWE
Drew McIntyre and The Miz will be part of The Shaq Bowl on Sunday from 3-6 p.m. Eastern time. They will be on opposite teams in a series of competitions including an obstacle course, hot wings eating contest, tug of war, dance contest, a sit up contest and a dodgeball game.
The St. Louis FOX station has a story on Carmella’s second Reginald. (thanks to Mike Kuzmuk)
UFC
Seasons one, two, and 22 of the Ultimate Fighter are now up on ESPN+
OTHER NEWS
Bellator is making an announcement on Tuesday afternoon.
The Chicago Tribune had a story on the best matches in the history of Chicago Heights at
